


Princess

by Asaped



Category: Interlunium (Band)
Genre: There's like one extra dude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 11:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asaped/pseuds/Asaped
Summary: The girls of Interlunium finally get a well-deserved break. Some go back to visit their families while others take this time to relax and play games. Junko? She has to deal with creepy alien people trying to kidnap her.





	Princess

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Interlunium story on the site! I wrote this way back when I was just an avid fan in the discord server... well I still am. Anyway, I really love this group and what they are doing, so if you happen to find this story randomly, please go watch their videos on YouTube!

The rhythmic sounds of eleven pairs of shoes sliding across the smooth vinyl floor. Their eyes are faced forward towards the large mirror, making sure that their movements are perfect.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! Come on Kanon, you’re slowing down! Alright, stop. Everyone take a twenty minute break!”

A collective sigh and the thuds of multiple people falling to the floor shortly followed. Many of them stayed sprawled on the ground, trying to catch their breath. Others went to get some water for themselves and the other members. 

It was a quiet winter night in Tokyo. It had just began to snow, most of it not sticking to the roads, but a light blanket of white covered the trees and the grass. Most stores were already closed; only a few bright lights remained in the area. One in particular came from the I My Me building. In fact, there was only one bright light aside from the company’s name and that is where the newest up-and-coming idol group Interlunium is having their dance practice. Their choreographer had just called for a break and left the room, leaving the eleven girls alone.

“Look girls! It’s snowing!” Akira exclaims, her face pressing against the large window and her breath beginning to fog up the glass. The other girls look up towards the bright orange-haired girl, her excitement soon infecting the other members. In a short moment all the girls were gathered together facing the window, observing the outside and admiring the scenery.

“What are everyone’s plans for break? I know most of us are going to Megumi’s inn and Dam Bi is going to visit family in Korea, but what are the rest of you doing?” Rinko asks, turning towards her group.

“Kanon and I are gonna finish up this game we’ve been playing together, then start a new one!” Chiyo boasts, chest puffed up slightly. Kanon nods vigorously.

Kazue sighs. “I have to go and work all break. It’s fine though, so don’t worry about me. Make sure you all have fun in my place”.

“What about you Junko?” Rinko asks. Everyone turns to look at Junko expectantly. What does Interlunium’s mystery idol do in her spare time?

“I… I’m just staying at home with my father. He says he wants to spend more time with me since he leaves for work so much,” Junko explains, smiling shyly. In fact, she’s really excited to spend some quality time with her father, it has been too long since the last time they were able to sit down and actually talk to each other. They were both busy with their own schedules and by sheer luck, Junko’s father was able to get some time off that coincided with her break.

Akira then jumps in. “What about your mo-mmpff!” Her loud voice was quickly silenced by Yume and Anette. Silence quickly falls in the room. Even though Junko is a mystery, there are some things that the girls know to never bring up, one of them being her mother. 

Junko smiles at the girls reassuringly. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. I don’t know where she is and to be honest, I don’t care anymore. I’ve gotten over it.” 

Even after that, the girls are still weary. Rinko decides to chime in.“C’mon girls, let’s get back to practice now. We need to get this routine down before we all leave or else it will be hell for us when we get back. It won’t be long after until we have our next show!”

The others begrudgingly agree and start to get back into their positions. Soon after, the choreographer comes back and starts up the music again. The atmosphere slowly goes back to normal as the girls get back into practice mode. The snow begins to fall even harder. Only a few more days until their long awaited break.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the last day of practice and the girls were all huddled outside of the I My Me building, the snow slowly falling on them. Practice ended early that day so the sun was still in the sky, slowly setting into the horizon, the orange colors painting the sky in brilliant hues. Junko looks up to see the flakes dance down towards her face, each one landing like a small kiss from the clouds. It was the first time in a while for Interlunium to get a long break like this, so the girls wanted to make sure they spent their time to its fullest.

“Okay girls, remember to keep in touch, sleep well, and NOT GET SICK! Okay?” Rinko sternly warns the other members. Thankfully, her menacing demeanor turns back into a smile. “Let’s end today off with the usual. Ready?”

“Oh come on Rinko, do we have to do that? It’s so embarrassing!” Eimi whines. “There’s no one but us here, what’s the point?”

“I think it’s endearing Eimi,” Yume replied. “It gives us a morale boost, or at least it helps me…”

Eimi rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, putting her hand in the center of the group. “Well, are we gonna do this or not?”

Everyone looked at each other and smiled, bringing their hands to the middle. Rinko began their cheer. “Okay girls! Ready?”

They lean forward, bringing their hands lower, forming a peace sign and touching their fingers together forming a star in the center. Rinko starts, “WE ARE-“

“INTERLUNIUM! WE ARE SHINING!” The rest follow, bringing their hands up into the air. Everyone is smiling and a few giggles escape some of their mouths.

Junko watches them all begin to walk their separate ways: the majority of the girls go to a small bus that Eimi’s family provided them so that they could go to the inn; Dam Bi goes into a taxi, possibly already heading home before going to the airport; and Kazue starts walking the other way, heading towards the nearest bus station. Junko turns to see Chiyo walking swiftly towards a light blue sedan, Kanon following right behind, guitar slung across her back and a console in her hands. She smiles at them, glad that they were able to meet and connect with each other. She knows how tough their past was and what they went through so it truly brings a smile to her face to see them become close friends.

A black car then pulls up to the front of the building as soon as Chiyo and Kanon leave. Junko immediately recognizes the car and a frown begins to form on her lips. She expected her dad to come pick her up, but she instead is greeted by a man in a dark suit. He looms over her, an aura of intimidation surrounding him, suffocating Junko. She’s forced to take a step back.  
“Miss Junko, my apologies but your father is unable to see you at the current moment. If you could please step inside the car, I will take you back to your living quarters.”

Junko pays the man no mind as she quickly moves past the guard and steps into the car. The door slams shut behind her and she sits down, still frowning. She should have expected this to happen but she was still slightly frustrated. She stares outside and watches the surroundings pass her by. The lights zooming past in combination with the falling snow create a dance of crystals and photons that enrapture Junko to the point where she almost doesn’t notice her phone ringing. She quickly answers without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

A calm, deep voice responds, “Hello Junko.”

“Papa!” she excitedly shouts, surprising the driver, causing him to swerve off the road a little bit. Junko makes direct eye contact with him but she ignores him and continues with her conversation. “Where are you? Is everything okay?”

“Yes sweetie, I’m alright. I’m sorry for not being able to pick you up myself. I know how important this break is to you but I got caught up in some work stuff.”

Her smile immediately goes away. “Work again? You promised…”

Junko’s dad sighs, expecting this response. “I know, I know, but daddy can’t ignore this call. It’s urgent”

“… Fine. Will you be back for dinner at least?”

“I’ll do my best, but don’t stay up for me if I don’t okay? I love you my little moon child.”

“Love you too Papa, see you soon”

 

After he hangs up with a click, she looks at her phone. She sees the new message notification and quickly opens it up. It’s from Rinko; she sent a picture of her and the other girls on the bus making silly faces and poses. She wanted to go with them, but she also wanted to spend some more time with her father. She’s just glad that they are having fun. That’s all that matters, they needed the break after all.

The car begins to slow down as Junko realizes that they are at the front of her apartment complex. She steps out carefully, making sure she doesn’t slip on the snowy sidewalk.

“Do you want me to escort you up to your room miss?” the man asks from the driver’s seat.

“I’m good,” she replies. She begins to walk towards the doors but she quickly turns around. “Thank you again for driving me home. I’m sorry if I was being rude, I was just-“

He interrupts her. “Don’t worry about it Miss. I understand completely. Your dad just has a lot on his plate, okay? Look, the way I see it is that if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have asked his personal bodyguard to come get you, right? Don’t be too mad at him. Have a good rest of your night, Miss. Take care.” He flashes a bright smile, letting Junko see that he has a tooth missing in the front. She instinctively smiles back and waves as he drives off, down the snowy streets of Tokyo.

Junko’s apartment isn’t anything too lavish. She’s not one to show off her status or anything like that. In fact, you might not even know someone was even living in this unit until you see one distinguishing feature: the color. Almost everything in the house was a specific shade of dark blue. This blue radiates a feeling of secrecy, similar to the ocean’s depths, wanting to be explored but too dangerous to to be fully understood. Rinko was the only one who has been in Junko’s apartment and when she asked Junko about the color choice, she simply said “it makes it easier to see the stars”.

The tiny beep of the electronic lock signals Junko’s entrance. She quietly places her belongings on the counter that separates the kitchen to the living space and heads to the cupboard to get a glass for some water. She takes a quick peek at her phone while she’s drinking to check the time.

Good, it’s only 7:30. I still have time.

She places the empty glass in the sink and quickly heads to her bathroom to shower and change into her pajamas. She wanted to take more time but there were more important matters to attend to. She runs to her closet and pulls out her most treasured possession, a telescope. It wasn’t anything too fancy – Junko didn’t care for that too much – but it was effective and that’s all that mattered to her. She makes her way back to the living area, moving the curtains aside and sliding open the balcony doors. A chill runs through her as she remembers that it’s still cold outside and her hair is still wet from the shower. She takes note of her surroundings, the people walking below, the restaurants bustling with life, the cars passing by. She also notices that the snow had pretty much died down at this point; only the small flakes remained, landing on her silk pajamas and disappearing almost instantaneously.

Junko doesn’t remember when she started to love the moon. Maybe because of its history, a new frontier to be discovered in the quest to know everything. Maybe it’s because of its light, it ability to mesmerize the people. Or perhaps it was because it has always been there for her when her parents couldn’t be, watching over her, giving silent reassurance that she’s doing the right thing. Either way, Junko never stopped admiring the grand celestial body that gave her comfort in the darkest of times.

Today isa special day: it was the supermoon, a time where the moon would be located on the opposite side of the Earth and Sun in which the moon would be fully illuminated and appear larger than usual. Junko finds this to be one of the most magical occurrences she has gotten to witness. She sets up the telescope and waits. She takes the time to reflect over the past year, about the new friends she has made and all the experiences they’ve shared together. She was really glad to be a part of Interlunium. Sometime she wonders about the adventures they would have had if they all met as kids.

Once the moon became more visible, Junko snaps back to reality and looks through her telescope. It takes some time to adjust, but she is finally able to clearly see the moon in all of its ethereal beauty. It’s so perfect. The faint noises from the street below creates a soothing ambiance for her. She sighs gently, fully content with the world.

Out of the corner of her eye, Junko notices something flash. She quickly rotates her telescope to investigate the source. A star? A Satellite? She isn’t able to find whatever caused that light. Instead, a lone ray of light pierces through the sky.

“What was tha-”, Her brief thought was forcefully interrupted by a sharp pain in her head.

This wasn’t a normal pain, it was something worse. Then again, when did feeling like someone just swung a baseball bat to the side of your head ever feel normal? Junko immediately started to press the sides of her head, attempting to alleviate any of the pain, but to no success. Her breathing intensified, her vision worsened, and she couldn’t even gather the strength to utter a single scream. It kept building and building like a dam about to burst, tears forming in her eyes until… it stopped. A wave of relief flooded over her as she fell to the floor of her balcony, a loud thud masked by the city noises below. Junko couldn’t move a single muscle. All she could do is watch the pale moon above her and feel the kisses of snow on her cheeks.

She closes her eyes.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Where am I?”

Junko’s eyes open to an unfamiliar landscape. A barren plain surrounds her, its white grass illuminating her surroundings. There’s nothing around. She is alone.

She doesn’t understand.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” she inquires, but there is no response. She tries again, her voice being swallowed up by the void. She has yet to move a single step, possibly afraid of what might happen.

She needs to know.

Junko quickly turns around, sensing someone watching her but there’s no one there. Instead, she hears something. Whispers? She tries to discern what they are saying, but to no avail. She doesn’t want to move, but she needs to if she ever wants to find answers. She begins to walk in the direction of the voices. It seems like an eternity for Junko as she keeps walking, no ending in sight. The whispers are getting louder though, but Junko still can’t understand them. Is this even Japanese? Is it English? 

She will learn.

A small hill catches Junko’s attention. Finally encountering something that isn’t just flat ground, she quickly runs up it. At the top, Junko sees a lone hydrangea growing, its blue petals glistening with dew. She moves closer to it. As she does, the whispers increase in intensity. She winces in pain. She keeps going until she is right in front of it. Junko bends down and slowly moves her hand towards it. The whispers are getting worse, but as soon as she touches the flower, they become coherent. They are all saying the same thing. One sentence. One demand:

“You must return to us.”

Junko slowly opens her eyes, adjusting to the bright lights that are filling the room. She begins to recall what happened, about the car ride, the telescope, and her dream. Her eyes widen in fear upon a sudden realization.

“How did I get here?” she whispers to herself.

She remembers falling down outside, the bright light and the intense pain that followed. This isn’t outside, this is her room. How did she get back? Her body tenses.

Clang

Her eyes widen. She quickly scans the room and spots her purse. She slides out of bed, careful to make as little noise as possible. She pulls out her pepper spray and slowly creeps towards the door, slowly opening it. A blast of aroma hits her nose, surprising Junko.

“Are those… eggs?”

She walks through the hallway towards the kitchen, still nervous about what she might encounter. She carefully turns the corner and…

“Papa?!” she exclaims in shock. “When did you get here?”

“Sweetie!” He stops what he’s doing and runs up to Junko, hugging her tight. “Are you okay?! What happened last night? I come in and see you passed out on the balcony! I was so worried, I-I didn’t know how long you were there. If you didn’t wake up I wouldn’t know what to do…”

“I’m fine, I think I was just tired…” she replies. “My head still hurts but I’m feeling a lot better.”

Junko’s father lets go of her and looks at her with concern. “I don’t think you should be living alone. Maybe you should go back to the dorms with the other girls…”

“No, no! It’s fine. I promise,” Junko insists. “Besides, I can’t see the stars from the dorms.”

He sighs, knowing that he won’t be able to change his daughter’s mind. He runs his hand through his luscious pink hair and turns around. “Fine, but if something like this happens again…” He begins to ramble and lecture her, but like any other teenager, Junko tunes him out. He goes on for a while and Junko begins to smell something.

“Hey, Papa?” She interrupts

“And that’s how I-Yes, my Moon Child?” He halts his train of thought to pay attention to his daughter.

“I think your eggs are burning”

“Hm? Oh no!” He quickly runs back to the kitchen and turns off the stove, but the damage was done. The smell of burnt scrambled eggs filled the room. “Heeeeey, sweetie?” he asks, ashamed of himself.

“Yes?”

“Wanna eat out for breakfast?”

Junko laughs. “Sure, let me get changed” She begins to turn around but her father speaks up again.

“Oh and one more thing… is that pepper spray in your hands?”

Walking through town was always a hassle for Junko. It was always the same thing everywhere she went. People would stare at her and whisper, sometimes boys would come up and talk to her if they had the courage. She would usually tell them to go away, but if that didn’t work, she would make up some random item for them to get and bring back to her. One time, one of her classmates foolishly decided to try and ask her out. In response, she made the boy try and find a statue of a golden dragon that was only found at a hidden cave in Mt. Fuji. Needless to say, he never came back. In fact, she doesn’t remember seeing him at school anymore. Strange.

If walking by herself was pain, Junko walking around with her dad made it worse. Two pink haired individuals casually walking around the streets of Tokyo? Who wouldn’t find that strange? Thankfully, people kept their space from her. Maybe it was because of her father? She looks up and sees him surveying the area and glaring at any young men that would dare try to interact with his precious child. It worked. Anyway, she was glad that she could walk down the streets without too much worry. The two of them had just finished eating breakfast and were heading to a nearby park to unwind. On the way there, she asked her dad about work yesterday, but he casually changes the subject before she could get any information from him.

At the park, Junko and her father find a bench overlooking a small lake and take a seat. There were a million thoughts running through Junko’s mind so she begins to tell her father about the events of yesterday. She tells him about watching the stars and then tells him about her dream.

“… and that’s what happened.”

She expected a response, but none came. Worried, she turns to look at him. “Papa?”  
Junko’s father was visibly distressed. Sweat dripping down the sides of his face, his breathing erratic. He kept his hands together, thumbs massaging his palms. He was shaking in fear. Junko grabbed her father’s shoulders in concern and shook him until he became responsive. 

“What’s wrong Papa? Hey! Papa!”

He slowly turns his head and looks Junko straight in the eyes. He grabs Junko and brings her close. He whispers in her ear, his voice shaking.

“Run. You can’t go back.”  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah, that was so refreshing!”

“Yeah, I’m really glad we could get into the baths this late, your parents rule Megumi!”

“Ah, it was no problem Akira. Your enjoyment makes me smile.”

Yume could hear the sounds of footsteps coming through the hallway back to the room. The paper doors slide open and she sees the rest of the girls come in and take a seat on the tatami mats. 

Eimi admires the room and smiles at Yume, “Woah Yume, you really cleaned the place up! I guess dancing isn’t the only thing you’re good at.”

Rinko quickly turns to Eimi and scolds her, “Eimi! That was mean! Apologize right now!”

“Why? I’m just stating facts. Besides, now we can use this story in interviews when they ask us about other members.” Eimi quickly retorts and takes a seat at the table situated in the center of their room. She then takes her phone out of her robe pocket and scrolls though her feed. 

“It’s okay,” Yume mumbled and turns to look at Eimi, hoping for an apology, but receives no acknowledgement, “She’s right.”

The atmosphere drops and the girls all silently take a seat around the room. They all take their phones out and follow Eimi’s lead, looking through various social media. Bothered by the lengthy silence, Anette sneaks up behind Yume and decides to tease her.

“Ohhh Yume, is that a new boy?” She wondered, “Did a new idol come up and sweep you off your feet?”

“No, this is still the same person, just a different picture” Yume responds, a blush forming on her cheeks.

“Oh so you still want to ‘Lay’ with him?” Anette joked. The other girls groaned at the poorly made pun and Eimi just facepalmed.

Yume assures the others “NO! Not like that! I just admire him and his work ethic”

“Awww, you’re so cute when you act like that” Anette laughs. She then hugs Yume from behind and starts tickling her. The resulting laughter causes the other girls to share giggles between them and soon everyone, even Eimi, was having fun. They all start to share ideas about what they want to do for their next song but their thoughts are interrupted by Rinko’s phone ringing. She apologizes, looks at the caller ID and sees that it’s Junko. She quickly answers and puts the call on speaker so the other girls can listen as well. 

“Junko? What’s up?”

A flurry of words follow, “Rinko?! Is that you? Oh thank goodness. I had to ditch my phone and...” Junko then breathes a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad I could reach you. I tried to call Lina but she didn’t respond. I need your help. Please. I need you.”

Looks of concern grew on the girls faces. Rinko immediately responds, “What’s going on?! Are you okay?”

“I’m hiding right now. I know you’re with everyone having fun, but I didn’t know who else would believe me.” She pauses, “Are the others there with you?”

“Yeah, you’re on speaker phone right now, sorry”

Junko sighs again, “No no, this is fine. I wanted everyone else to hear this too”. She begins to recall her story to the group. They all listen in silence, unable to interrupt. Even the rowdy Akira didn’t have anything to say, she just sat there, eyes wide open, taking all the information in. They know that Junko wouldn’t lie to them, but this sounded so outrageous. If it was anyone else, they wouldn’t believe it. Eimi however, still wasn’t convinced. 

“Oh come on Junko, do you really expect us to believe this? How can we? I know you think that-”

“I believe her” The girls turn to face Megumi, who calmly interjects Eimi’s accusations. Ignoring the death glare, she continues, “This actually reminds me of a folktale that my mother used to tell me. Junko, have you heard the story of Princess Kaguya?”

A moment of silence and then Junko replies, “No, I can’t say that I have. The name sounds awfully familiar though”

Megumi continues her theory, “Well, it’s a story about a girl who was found by a bamboo cutter while he was in the forest. He took her back to his home where he and his wife took care of the child. As she grew older, she became more and more beautiful, soon gaining the attention of citizens and travelers near and far. Because of her beauty, many nobles and aristocrats asked for her hand in marriage. She would usually reject them outright but five princes came from the capital to see if she would choose one of them. She then made up impossible tasks for the princes to complete, like to obtain the begging bowl of Buddha. Each of the princes left to their quests, but all of them were unable to procure the item they were assigned. One of the princes even perished while trying to search for his item.”

A small gasp comes from Junko after that, remembering her interactions with other boys and her one classmate that never came back to school.

“Did I…” She wonders in shock.

“Everything okay Junko?” Rinko asks worryingly. 

Junko reassures Rinko, “Hm? Yeah yeah, sorry. Please continue Megumi.” 

Megumi nods and continues, “So now even the emperor is intrigued and comes to see Kaguya in which he immediately asks her to marry him. She once again denies the request but tells him that she is not from this country, so marriage would be impossible. He would still keep trying much to her dismay. That summer however, whenever a full moon would appear, she would start crying for no reason. It turns out that Kaguya is actually a denizen of the moon and her people are calling her back” She pauses again to let everyone process the information.

Akira nervously asks, “S-so what happens next? Does she get taken?”

Megumi grimly nods, “Yes, she is taken away by the moon people and her memories of her time on Earth are removed”

Rinko yells in frustration, “Argh, come on! There’s no way that’s real right? It could just be some series of coincidences.”

Junko snaps, “So then why did my father act that way?! Why did he tell me to run? You weren’t there! I don’t even know where he is or what’s going on! You can’t seriously chalk all of this up to coincidences can you? I thought out of everyone, you would believe me.” She trails off, “I thought you would trust me...”

“It’s not like that” Rinko pleads, tears forming in her eyes, “I don’t want to believe it because I don’t want you to leave!” She begins to sob, “Junko you have always been there for me. You saved me and gave me a reason to keep going. Without you, I… I don’t know what I would do.”

Akira and Anette got up to console Rinko. Megumi stayed seated, thinking about possible solutions from other stories, anything that could get Junko out of her current predicament. Yume got up to try and look for tissues. Eimi, however, stood up in frustration.

“Hey! That’s enough!” Everyone stopped to look at the blonde girl. “Rinko, stop inviting people to your silly pity party. You’re all letting your emotions get the better of you. It’s pathetic.” She looks around the room giving everyone an disappointing look, like one a parent would give to their child. 

Rinko gets up as well, rubs her eyes furiously, and finally speaks. “She’s right. This isn’t the time for this. We need to help our fellow member together. I know we were going to spend the week here, but I am asking you to come back with me. Will you?”

Various nods and affirmations come from the other girls except Eimi. They all turn to her expectantly. Eimi’s gaze hardens to a stern look.

“Well? Let’s pack up, we can’t keep Junko waiting. We don’t have enough information to do anything. I’ll call daddy and get us transportation. Let’s figure things out on the bus. Junko, if you can stay on the phone, I want you to tell us more about what happened.”

But there was no response, just silence.

“...Junko? Junko?!”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I thought you would trust me…”

After that line Junko felt defeated. She couldn’t believe that her best friend would question her like that. Even after everything they have been through together. She drops the payphone and curls into a ball, garnering the attention of others, but they pay her no mind. She starts crying, wondering why this was all happening to her. What did she do to deserve all of this. She recalls all the memories she’s had with Interlunium, from when they first met to when they finished their first live event. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and she wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. 

After a while, her crying stops. She looks up to check the time on the clock in the station. It was 10:53. She gasps, “I was here for 30 minutes?!” She quickly gets up but stumbles a little bit due to not using her legs for a while. She begins to make her way to the stairs leading out of the station when she feels someone watching her. She turns around and notices that the station has become eerily silent. She scans the station and sees that everyone has stopped moving. Junko tries to run but realizes that she herself can’t move.

“You are paralyzed by fear. You can not hide any longer. Now come with us child.”

Junko pales and she feels her body go cold. She pleads to the voice, “No please, I don’t want to go!” 

A bright light appears before her and a figure emerges. The first thing she notices are the clothes, gold colored silk lined with a white fur, shimmering with the light. The next thing were the eyes, a crystal blue that pierces her soul. The final feature was the hair under the large half-circle headdress. It was pink just like hers, the same shade and everything. Junko is unable to look away as it steps onto the station floor. 

The person speaks, “I see you have forgotten the reason you are here. Your father has prevented us from finding you but now that you are here, you must atone”

Junko’s eyes fill with worry, “My father? What do you mean?”

“Your father has been… disposing our scouts whenever they are on Earth. We only recently narrowed our search parameters to Japan thanks to him. It would have taken longer but thanks to a concerned benefactor, we were able to quicken the search.”

A small gasp escapes Junko’s mouth, “Is that what my father has been doing? He’s been protecting me all this time?”

The man nods, “Indeed. It seems he wanted you to live a comfortable life, even going through the trouble of removing your memories it seems. How unfortunate for you because now it means you have learned nothing.”

He raises both of his hands, lifting Junko into the air. She struggles to escape, but is unable to break free from the invisible chains that bind to her. She can feel the restraints pulling on her roughly, her arms and legs feeling like they will be removed from their sockets. Her body begins to move closer towards the bright light and Junko feels her consciousness fading...

“HEY YOU PINK-HAIRED, EMPEROR KUZCO LOOKIN’ NIGHTLIGHT, TAKE THIS!”

“That voice,” she realizes, “is that Anette?”

A mix of shoes, bags, and a makeup flew through the air, pelting the now surprised captor. Junko feels her bonds loosen and suddenly she is falling to the ground. She closes her eyes to brace for impact on the hard ground but instead she is caught by a set of strong, familiar hands. Her eyes open and see her father smiling warmly at her. 

“Daddy’s here Junko.”

He lets go once the two were both back on the floor and soon Junko is tackled by several people all at once.

Junko is shocked, “Girls?! What are you doing here?”

“We can discuss this later. It seems our ‘friend’ here is angry” Eimi replies getting into a fighting stance against the figure. She raises her hand and two men in suits come from the station entrance, guns pointed at the figure.

“You insolent fools, what do you think you are to gain from your actions?” He barks out, causing some of the girls to flinch.

“Junko is our friend! We aren’t just gonna let some weird dude from the moon take her back! She belongs with us! With Interlunium!” Akira shouts back. The figure pauses for a second and turns his attention to Junko’s father. 

“Is this true?,” he asks, “Have these humans… connected with your child?”

Junko’s dad nods, “Yes, these girls and a few more are in a idol group together. They have gone through a lot and their bonds have strengthened due to their many trials. Their music has brought smiles to many and has created new bonds between people from all around the world.”

Rinko steps to the front, surprising Junko. “Junko’s father is right. We’ve been through so much that I couldn’t imagine of of us not being here. Each person has a special role and we all appreciate one another.” She turns around to face Junko. “Junko, I’m sorry that I said those things to you. I trust you a lot. You’ve helped me more than you will ever know. You are the reason I am the person I am today. I hope you can trust me again.”

Tears start to form in Junko’s eyes, “Of course Rinko, of course I forgive you. You’re my best friend. I will never forget the day I met you because that was the moment my entire life changed.”

They run towards each other and embrace in a tight hug, both of them crying. The other girls join the two as they all cherish one another. The alien looks towards the group and speaks.

“I see that her memories were not necessary for rehabilitation. You have shown me that you are capable of fostering powerful friendships with one another.” A white scroll materializes next to the figure and he opens it. “It seems that the council also agrees. You are hereby free to live on this world with no more interference as long as you continue to nurture and strengthen these bonds. If not, we will be back.”

As soon as those words were spoken, a brilliant flash blinds the group. Once the light fades, the time within the station resumes, causing the bystanders to pause in shock of the group of crying teenagers and men with guns in their hands. A large crowd gathers around them, whispering to each other, some start taking their phones out for pictures or to call the police.

Junko’s father awkwardly looks around, “Let’s get out of here first. We can talk then.”

“So that’s how we ran into your father. He even opened a portal for us to go through in order to make it you in time!” Akira explains, a smile beaming on her face. “It was sooo COOL!”

Junko chuckles, “Haha, I see. Well perhaps I can get some of those powers too.” She glances at her father, but he just looks away. 

“Not until you’re older young lady.”

Everyone is seated comfortably in Junko’s apartment, talking about what happened and discussing their thoughts. Megumi and Yume just finished making tea for everyone and they came to take their seats on the floor. It was a long day but it seemed that none of the girls were tired at all. Even Eimi seemed interested in the conversation taking place.

“Something has been bothering me though” Junko ponders, “The man said that some other individual helped him on his search for me. Do you have any idea of who that could have been dad?”

Junko’s dad shakes his head, “Unfortunately I do not. Only our people should be able to see and sense each other’s presence. I did not detect any other presence like that and no one else should know about this besides you all so whoever this person is, they should not be treated lightly.”

A dark silence fills the room. The girls are apprehensive. They only barely kept an alien from taking one of their friends, could they deal with more of this? They were just supposed to be idols, not whatever this is. 

“We will deal with it when it comes.”

Everyone looks up from their sullen states to see Rinko once again instilling confidence to the group. “This was definitely an abnormal event for all of us, but I believe that with our bonds we can overcome any obstacle.”

She smiles, “Besides, this isn’t even all of us. When we all come back together, we can talk and discuss what we will do from there. Remember, we are never alone. Now come on, let’s celebrate the successful rescue of Junko!”

Cheers and shouts of agreement can be heard from outside the apartment as the group continues to enjoy the rest of the day. However, it’s not all peaceful as someone in the cafe across the street closes their newspaper and sighs in frustration. 

“Oh come on, I thought they would have taken her after everything that happened. It took me forever to even contact these moon freaks. How was I supposed to know that all it took was some cheap ‘friendship’ to get them to stop chasing the girl? What a waste of time.”  
The person picks up the mug takes a sip of their coffee.

“Oh well, this isn’t the end of the world. There are four others that I can try to get rid of. The only problem is who would be easiest. The tomboy perhaps?”

The person’s phone buzzes and they take it out of the pocket to see who had messaged them. Instead, a single notification flashes across the screen.

“LP fully recovered!”


End file.
